The Calm Before the Storm
by princessofthescoundrels
Summary: The Kingdom Keepers take some time off saving the world to get to know one another. Harry P. spoilers...
1. A lazy morning in Epcot

**Hey y'all! It's me again… now who's psyched for the next KK book? I am! So in order to blow off some steam, I wrote this.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned this I would live IN Hollywood Studios. No joke. Right in the little plastic Ewok village, jamming to constant John Williams Star Wars tunes. Yeah man!**

**Summary: The team catch some down time between adventures to hang out in a nearby Epcot park and learn about one another in the process.**

**Pairs: Not sure if it applies here, but these are the pairings I support; Finn x Amanda, Willa x Philby, Charlene x Maybeck and Jess x OC**

***Epcot

The group of seven was seated on a patch of earth in a secluded spot in Epcot. After Disney's butterfly theme ended a few years ago the workers at Disney found that they had some empty space in their hands. After a great deal of persuasion and some well chosen words, the group was permitted to use a bit of land over near The Sea. The only condition was that they have a guard there in case a rabid fan or two should get out of hand. This fact didn't seem to bother most of the group, but one particularly large African American boy was eyeing the armed guard warily, as if a bodyguard was lousy protection against whatever situations he had been previously up against.

They were quite an unusual group. There was a large African American boy with dreadlocks named Maybeck, whose expression often could be compared to a parent's after being told of a child's suspension, then a pretty blonde athletic cheerleader named Charlene, who was unaware of Maybeck's unwavering gaze now on her legs. Then there was a slightly nerdy boy named Philby, whose hand was twitching in the direction of the girls' next to him as if it wanted to hold it. Oblivious to this action was Willa, a fellow nerd wearing a JAWS t-shirt, who was gazing about the group with an expression that meant she was quite content where she was. On her immediate right was Jess, and then her sister Amanda. The obvious leader of the pack was last. The somewhat high- strung Finn was on his knees in an unconscious attempt to be higher than his friends.

"Er- I suppose you all know why you're here-"Finn began.

"Dude, this isn't a war council," Maybeck interrupted smoothly, propped up on just his elbows and twirling a dandelion around his fingers. "We're just here to have fun. Relax a little, man." A few teens snickered but that only made Finn look more nervous.

"Sorry, just so used to… you know."

"We get it," Amanda said soothingly, patting his arm. Instantly Finn twitched at the contact. He miraculously found his strength and continued on.

"So uh, I have some cards here…" and as he brought out the cards laughter erupted in a mushroom explosion. His muttered, "I think we should play a card game," was almost unheard amongst the mirth.

"High School Musical Party Game?" Philby uttered through tears of joy. "Really?"

Finn regained his composure and glared at his friends who were rolling on the grass laughing.

"So sorry Finn," Jess gasped. "We just weren't expecting that… to come from you!" Another round of giggles began after that remark. Somehow it was the most ridiculous thing in the world that a boy in his teens would happen to own a deck of High School Musical play cards.

"They're my cousins'," he said stiffly, clearly uncomfortable with the reaction of his friends.

"If you say so," Philby chortled. By this time most of the group was calming down and brushing blades of grass from their knees. Willa, who had a problem with laughing, continued to roll all over the place. Philby just stared down at her with a little smile. Maybeck was looking as if he had just met a dancing potato and stared at her as if he wasn't rolling on the ground in the same way just moments ago.

"Not cool…" he muttered and Charlene raised an eyebrow at him. He shrugged, looking rather embarrassed after being caught by her.

"What?" Willa asked innocently after calming herself down and brushing a stray leaf off of her killer whale. "Why're you all looking at me?" Deciding it wasn't worth it, Finn carried on.

"Well, what you do in this game is, there are different cards that have a question on them. I'll pick up a card and we will answer them in order going, erm, this way. Is that alright?" Finn asked distractingly. He picked up the cards and fingered the first one in the deck.

"Sure," Charlene said soothingly, trying to diffuse the bemused silence that overcame them all.

"Okay, the first question is…" he picked up the card and squinted to read the writing. "Erm, 'what movie have you watched a lot?'"

"Stupid question," Maybeck muttered.

"It's your turn, you need to answer the question," Amanda said sternly.

"Fine. Let's see… Julius Caesar," he said proudly.

"Sure… you just said that because there's war in there! What's the name of Julius' second wife? Hmm?" Philby sneered.

A dull color crept up the collar of his shirt. "I, er, forgot."

"Yeah thought so," Philby replied smugly which earned himself a glare from Maybeck.

"Let's see… I've seen Legally Blonde quite a number of times," Charlene answered honestly. No one questioned her answer.

"I like Indiana Jones," Philby answered sheepishly. "He's cool!"

"That's okay," Willa assured him. "I've seen Star Wars more times than I can possibly count!" They shared a mutual nerd moment of silence.

"I watched Mary Poppins a lot when I was really young," Jes said quietly. "We don't really get the chance to watch movies much anymore."

"I love anything Disney, but I've also seen the Sound of Music a lot," said Amanda thoughtfully after a moment's pause.

"I like Hercules. Very manly." The group sniggered at Finn's answer and he grinned a little and reached for the next card. "What's the best advice you've ever received? The worst?"

"Best piece of advice… 'grow dreadlocks kid… the ladies will be all over you'," replied Maybeck with a straight face. The other boys laughed but the girls gave him an exasperated look. He grinned at them cockily. "Now the worst advice I was ever given… 'I think we should play a card game'!" This time Finn was the one who gave him the look and the girls joined in for the joke.

"My turn! Um," Charlene began, twirling a stray blonde lock between her fingers. "I think being myself has always been a good message for me… and the worst, well, one time my best friend and I decided to cut our hair… well, you get it don't you?" The group laughed again and Charlene gave a joking shrug at her own expense.

"For me the whole be yourself thing has always worked, but the worst piece of advice I've ever gotten involved a soda bottle, baking soda, vinegar and some cat litter. Let's say that that did not go well at all! And my parents weren't too happy about what happened to the dining room table either!" Philby gasped dramatically.

"Please, you're joking!" Amanda exclaimed skeptically.

"Oh no. You should have seen the look on my dad's face!" He imitated a cross between a confused monkey, an angry tiger and a surprised cat. A wave of laughter rolled around the circle.

"Now for me," Willa said sweetly. She looked up at the sky in thought for a moment and said, "The best advice I've gotten was probably 'don't let anyone get in the way of your dream; if they're not supportive of it, who needs 'em?' although it can be ineffective sometimes. The worst would have to be when a girl one time asked me if I wanted to smoke with her." Heads were nodding all around as they thought of similar circumstances they themselves were in at one point or another.

"Now the best piece of advice for me would have to be when Amanda told me not to let my abilities get me down. The worst advice would have to be when one of the Fairlies told me to let my abilities get me down!" Jes said seriously and Amanda nodded solemnly.

"Yeah, the worst for me would be when a Fairily tried to convince me to move the Headmistress' furniture out to the lawn as an April Fools prank! The best would also be to always be myself," Amanda agreed.

"Yeah that's always been a good one for me too. The worst… when a friend at school tried to convince me to not be a DHI anymore," Finn said bitterly. He then picked up another card and read it out loud, "If you could be in a sitcom family, which would you chose?"

"Family Matters," said Maybeck at once. "I'd like to pound that annoying little nerdy Steve into the floor. He's so annoyingly awesome."

"I dunno… maybe Gilmore Girls," shrugged Charlene.

"I'd like to be in Monty Python, not sure if it qualifies as a sitcom but whatever," Philby pondered thoughtfully.

"I like iCarly," an embarrassed Willa shared. "I like Sam and Freddie. Or, you know, the Clone Wars."

"I don't really watch T.V.," Jes said slowly. "But if I had to chose, it would be Little House on the Prairie." She got stares from her peers and shrugged nonchalantly. "What?"

"I'd like to be in That's So Raven. She's so cool," Amanda gushed and got nods from almost everyone.

"I like South Park," said Finn in a really weird high pitched voice. Many of the girls did not get it but the boys who did laughed. "If you could make up a nickname for yourself, what would it be?"

"That's stupid because most of our names are actually nicknames," Maybeck rolled his eyes. "but if I had to chose another it would be… the Exterminator because, well, you know why." He grinned cockily at them all and they smiled in good humor.

"Sometimes my family calls me Charlina," Charlene said slowly while hunching up her shoulders in embarrassment.

"That's cute!" said Amanda.

"I'd like to be called the Chosen One," Philby joked.

"Oh yeah," Willa laughed. "So I guess I'll be the Princess. Oh yeah!"

"I'd like to be Jezzy. Maybe I'll try that tomorrow," Jes ended thoughtfully.

"Okay," Amanda laughed. "I'll be Manders."

"In that case I'll be Fish Bone. Because fish have Fins," Finn tried to explain.

"Dude that sounds Native American," Philby laughed. "Greetings clan member Fish Bone! Come and call the gods in our tepee! Erm, no offence to any members of course…"

"Okay moving on," ended Finn with a chuckle. "Next is, 'Do you have a secret hobby, if so what is it?'"

"Well if I told you it wouldn't be a secret would it?" asked Maybeck dryly. "But I guess I trust you enough to say that I do collect comic books. But only cool ones," he quickly assured a suddenly excited Philby. Philby glared at him.

"I do hair wraps during lunch sometimes for fifty cents," Charlene said.

"Remind me to come over later," Amanda told her with a smile.

"I collect action figures." Philby looked around the circle, expecting surprised looks.

"I hate to break it to you, but we all knew that." Finn decided to break the news gently by speaking slowly.

"I teach kids to jump rope on weekends," Willa said.

"Well, I can play the saxophone," Jes explained dully.

There was a moment of silence and then, "Really?" Maybeck asked surprisingly.

"I also write romantic poetry," Jes replied without missing a beat.

"I make clothes for Barbie's still," Amanda told them after the awkward silence that occurred after the last remark.

"It's not too exciting but I collect baseballs from the sixties."

"Why the heck would you do that?" asked Philby with a smirk.

"Why the heck would I collect dolls?" Finn teased back.

"Touché," Philby murmured.

"Next on the agenda… 'If someone gave you a hundred dollars to spend at the mall, where would you go first?'"

"Harley Davidson," Maybeck said after no thought.

"You aren't old enough to drive," Philby explained slowly.

"I'd still buy one of those cool jackets. A hundred dollars isn't nearly enough for a whole Harley," he rolled his eyes.

"I'd go to Abercrombie."

"I'd go to Newbury Comics," Philby said after Charlene.

"Barnes and Noble is where I'd go."

"Why would you spend a hundred dollars at a mall?" Jes asked after Willa. This puzzled many members of the group and some nodded in agreement. "But if I had to I'd probably go to Icing."

"I'm more into Claire's."

"I like Best Buy," Finn finished and picked up a new card. "This one is, 'If you could change the ending of one book or movie, what would you change?'"

"I'd kill Lois Lane in Superman. She's so annoying," Maybeck said. "Actually all the super hero girlfriends are."

"All right then. In Miss Congeniality, I wouldn't have the first boyfriend run off with her friend."

"That's not the end of the movie," Jes pointed out.

"Whatever," Charlene replied, rolling her eyes for effect and smirking. "The first guy was cute and awesome."

"I wouldn't have killed Dobby in Harry Potter. That was way too sad man," Philby said sadly.

"Good one! I've never actually seen it but I wouldn't have had Dumbledore die. I understand the reasoning and how it was necessary but it was still so sad. Actually, never mind. It was artistic. Let me change my mind. Now what… oh! Indiana Jones. Willie should have been tortured more. Wayyy more. They went way too easy on her! Did anyone like her?" Disapproving nods from the group made Willa smile.

"Okay my turn. The father never actually apologized in Dirty Dancing. He should have," Jes announced determinedly.

"Okay…" Amanda looked at Jes strangely. "I think that the firefly in The Princess and the Frog shouldn't have died. He could have lived and the storyline would have been the same."

"I agree," Finn said. "Now I would have, in the movie The Goonies, made them take at least a little treasure! That was ridiculous! All that treasure…" he sighed and looked down. "The next card says, 'If you could name any soccer team, what would it be?'"

"The Hardasses," Maybeck said dryly.

"Okay," Charlene said slowly. "I'd be on the Butterfly's or something."

"The Avengers."

"The Rebels."

"Dumbledore's Army."

"The Panda Bears!"

"The Kingdom Keepers!" Finn exclaimed sarcastically. "C'mon guys! The next one says, 'How to you hope to earn your fifteen minutes of fame?'"

"Saving the world," Maybeck drawled.

"Rescuing a lost puppy!"

"Er, finding the cure to cancer would be pretty cool."

"I'd make a movie and donate all the proceeds to orphaned children."

"Helping orphaned children would be cool," Jes agreed.

"Ditto," Amanda said.

"I'd like to save Disney World from the Overtakers," Finn said and all the others smiled. "Maybe we've had enough now, should we break for lunch?"

The others quickly agreed and they told the guard they were taking a short break.

**Yes? No?**


	2. Lunch bonding

**Bri411, for introducing me to the KK group!**

Lunch had gone by quickly as it always did when the Keepers were involved. They decided to go eat at Germany, where German pretzels would be in order. As they could not eat German beer, they needed to get their drinks elsewhere. Soda stands were all around the parks, but it seemed like forever in the hot summer day until they found one.

Soon after they were lounging upon small plastic 'futuristic' benches and sipping their sodas. The Epcot ball gleamed in the distance, beautiful and innocent.

"Do you think we should pick up where we left off over here?" Finn asked, taking a bite of his unsalted pretzel.

"Sure if you're man enough. No real man gets unsalted pretzels," Amanda teased and made a show of taking a bite from her own, very salted, pretzel. She then took out a packet of super hot mustard and smothered it on the top of the German snack. Finn winced and Maybeck grinned. Amanda didn't even budge as the hot condiment hit her taste buds. "Hm um good!" She smiled and licked her lips.

The rest of the group proceeded to add mustard and lick salt off their fingers to try and irritate Finn, but he didn't move a muscle. "Sure, you guys can be immature all you want. I'll take out the cards."

"Oh, and there's nothing immature about High School Musical play cards," Maybeck whispered to a nearby Philby, who smiled behind a hand. Finn, who was meant to hear the comment, gave Maybeck a dirty look.

"The next one says, 'What song title best describes your outlook in life?'"

"It's my Life by Bon Jovi," Maybeck answered as though it were the most obvious answer in the universe.

"Of course," Charlene told him while rolling her eyes. "Mine is probably Hold On by B*Witched."

Philby rested his chin on his fist. "Hmm… Hakuna Matata from the Lion King." He sat back in his chair, looking overly proud of his answer.

"Raise Your Glass by P!nk!" answered Willa.

"Good one," Jes commented. "This is a really hard one! Put Your Records On by Corinne Bailey Rae."

Amanda nodded her agreement. "Keep Holding On sung by Avril Levigne."

"I like Go The Distance from Hercules." Finn picked up the next card. "What song would you like to see deleted forever from radio airwaves?"

"Anything Beiber," Maybeck answered immediately.

"Hey I like him!" Charlene defended. "I would say Rehab by Amy Winehouse. No wonder she died so young, the poor dear."

"I'll have to agree with the Beckster and say Beibs."

Willa nodded in agreement.

"Although I am not fond of Justin, I'll have to say that Lady Gaga's Paparazzi never did anything for me."

"I'm surrounded by Beiber haters!" exclaimed Amanda. "I'll have to say that I find Peacock by Katy Perry to be insulting."

"I like that song!" Finn teased. "I'd like to see Grenade and I Don't Feel Like Doing Anything gone. They're so annoying!" He picked up a new card. "'If they bottled your personality, what would they call it?'"

"Foxy."

Charlene thought. "Preppy."

"Nerdalicious."

"Sweet but satisfying," Willa answered casually.

"Mysterious Chiz."

Amanda looked to Jes. "What is chiz anyway? Mine would probably be Abnormally Cool."

"Sure…" Finn laughed. "I'm not sure but I think I'd be The Commander or something like that." He trailed off and peered at a new card. "'What movie title best describes you?'" groans could be heard all around as they thought.

"This is even worse than that song question!" Maybeck grumbled. "Okay, Invincible."

"Oh I don't know! Enchanted?"

"Temple of Doom," Philby growled in an intimidating voice.

"More like Short Circuit," Willa scoffed. "If you're the Temple of Doom then I'll be the Chamber of Secrets."

"Dang, that's me more than anything. I'll agree with Willa," Jes sighed.

"Working Girl, the one with Melanie Griffith."

"I'll be Lord of the Rings," Finn answered.

"That doesn't even make any sense," Maybeck scoffed.

"Does so," Finn defended. "'If you found your best friends diary or journal, would you read it?'" No's circled the group and Finn picked up the next card. "That was easy! 'If they made a movie or stage musical of your life, whom would you want to play you?'"

"Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson," Maybeck said smugly. "Or Ice Cube."

"Ha!" Charlene laughed. "Brittany Spears would be really cool. You know, if she could act."

"Cole Sprouse. From the Suite Life on Deck," Philby clarified.

"We know," answered Willa. "Uh, Natalie Portman would be cool. I don't know, honestly."

"Elizabeth Gillies from Victorious," answered Jes.

Amanda nodded. "I can see that. Don't know, probably someone from Disney."

"One of those Big Time Rush guys," Finn shrugged. "'If you could erase one TV show from history, which would it be?'"

"Cory in the House. Awful," Maybeck made a face and shook his head.

"The Backyardiagans scared me," Charlene confided.

"There were those little singing bloopy things that were awful," Philby shuddered. "They were walking blobs. I thought they were going to eat me."

"Keeping up With The Kardasians, The PlayBoy mansion thing, Ice Loves Coco, dang I could list MTV shows forever," Willa said with disgust. Charlene shuffled uncomfortably, because she liked some of those shows.

"I agree with Willa again," Jes said.

"I agree with the both of them but I add J.O.N.A.S. to that. And Spongebob. They're so weird."

Finn was silent. A fake tear ran down his cheek. "Spongebob is my favorite show." Amanda punched him in the shoulder and he laughed. "Okay, I'll say Yo Gabba Gabba, Doodlebops and Barney." He laughed. "How come all these little kids shows are so creepy?" the rest of the group laughed with him and agreed. "How about one more before we go back to the grass?"

"Sounds good," Philby told him.

Finn picked up another card and read it aloud, "'Which movie star would you most like to be?'"

"Brad Pitt," Maybeck answered and the rest of the group laughed.

"You sure about that?" Charlene giggled. Maybeck nodded sourly. "I'd be Brittany Snow. She's so pretty."

"I'd love to be Nathan Kress," Philby answered honestly.

Willa nodded her approval. "Jennette McCurdy is so cool. And a complete nerd, I love her!" Philby and Willa grinned at their iCarly favorites.

"I'd like to be Elizabeth Gillies, Victorious," Jes said monotone, glancing to Amanda who shrugged.

"Hey, that's cool. I'd be Selena Gomez, Wizards of Waverly Place. Gorgeous, that one."

Finn grinned. "David Henrie, Wizards also. He got some serious upper arm muscles," he flexed his own and stood up. "We'd better head back. We have more to do!"

The rest of the group got up as well and began to head back to their clearing.

**Hey guys this one wasn't nearly as long as the first chapter but the same amount of cards. I guess I didn't do enough 'playful banter' but I want to finish the experiment so… this story is mainly a character study to decide what the characters are like before trying something bigger.**

**Let me know if you think it's going well! Next (and last) should be up soon… but I make no promises.**


	3. The final round

**Hey my brother actually Beta Read this for me. Who knew right? Love you broski!**

The field that the Kingdom Keepers were relaxing in got colder as a wind blew in stealthily. The girls put on the sweaters wrapped around their torsos, but the boys decided to suffer rather than put on any extra layers of clothing.

They settled into the order previously set with Maybeck as the start of the circle and Finn at the end. Finn hid how cold he actually was by putting on some shades and speaking in a really slow voice, intentionally mocking cool people. "Yeah guys, we're almost done here. 'If you could make one character from a book, movie, or play come to life, who would it be?' Maybeck, man, you're up…" He nodded with a smirk on his face, meeting Maybeck's stunned, unamused expression. Finn frowned in response and stuck his tongue out at his naturally cool partner. The other members of the group laughed at this uncharacteristic humor coming from Finn.

Maybeck found the question extremely ironic and snorted. "You're kidding man. I think we've all had enough of characters coming to life." Another few giggles were omitted at this statement and the group nodded knowingly.

"Fine," Finn said good humouredly. "Let me change it to 'what's the good Disney character that you want to meet on our expedition to save the world as we know it?'"

"Nice," Philby commented. Finn winked at him.

"Hercules. He's a hero," Maybeck remarked and winked at Charlene. "Like me."

"Pocahontas. She does what she thinks is right."

Philby glanced at Charlene, seemingly surprised that she didn't say Cinderella. "Tarzan. Only he could make monkey sounds look good."

"And loincloths," added Willa with a smile and a push to Philby's shoulders. "I'd say Belle. She's actually smart, in comparison to many other princesses."

"I agree with Willa, but I'm going to say Mulan. She'd be really good in a fight, we could use her," Jes said.

"We have used her," Finn added with a smile. "But I agree it would be nice to fight with her again."

"Kim Possible is really cool," Amanda added. "I don't see why they don't play all those old shows on Disney Channel anymore… I'd watch them again."

Finn nodded in agreement. "Me too. I'd have to say Mickey Mouse. He'd be the ultimate to meet." The rest of the Keepers agreed, looking sheepish for not having thought of him themselves. "Now, onto the next question!" he announced importantly. "'What's the one thing you wish had never been invented?'"

"You," Maybeck said, obviously bored. Finn gave him a stern look, but was obviously amused.

Charlene hit him in the shoulder. "Cheerleading sterotypes."

"Nuclear bombs," Philby said importantly. "They don't help anyone."

"Cigarettes," Willa nodded, agreeing with Philby.

"Foster homes made for the unusual," Jes said with a strange expression on her face.

Amanda agreed. "That and illegal drugs. Like, unnecessary ones."

"Frankenstein. That dude scares the living daylights out of me!" Finn finished while rolling his eyes. "Almost done guys! 'What school subject leaves you bored out of your gourd?'" Maybeck, Charlene, and Jes answered with math while Amanda answered science, Willa and Philby both said health class and Finn decided on history. "'If you had vanity license plates, what would they say?'"

"Foxy," Maybeck repeated while raising an eyebrow that seemed to be questioning of Finn was actually joking or not.

"Okay Maybeck," Charlene said while shaking her head. "Fabulous, like Sharpay!"

"Nerd Power, only spelt nrdpwr to save on space."

"How clever," Willa praised while patting him on his back. "I'd probably go with Disney Babe only spelt DsnyBbe, to save on space."

"You guys are brilliant," Jes said sarcastically. "Awesome, hold the 'e' and the 'o'."

"Princess."

"Of course," Finn smiled at her while Maybeck gagged behind his hand rudely. "Super Finn, spelt suprfin. Now, only four left guys! We're doing good here!"

"We should go out for ice cream afterwards," suggesting Charlene.

"Good idea!" Philby agreed wholeheartedly, his teenage eating hormone acting up again.

"Okay guys, Magic Kingdom?" Finn asked. When he saw nods from all around he picked up another card. "'Who would you like to trade places with for a day?'"

"Michael Jackson, dude," Maybeck commented casually rubbing a hand up and down his arm to show how cold he actually was.

"He's dead," Philby corrected quietly.

"I know that!" exclaimed Maybeck, affronted. "When he was still alive, Dumbo."

"Next time, clarify that," scolded Charlene. "I'd be Reese Witherspoon."

"Harrison Ford," Philby replied with a smile.

"He's so old," Maybeck gagged disdainfully.

"He's not dead," Philby pointed out. Maybeck had no answer to that so he sulked behind his hand.

"Jennette McCurdy," Willa said thoughtfully after a moment of pause.

Jes rolled her eyes. "Elizabeth Gillies." A large sigh escaped the lips of the Keepers.

"Selena Gomez, so then I could date Justin Beiber," Amanda teased while a great number of the group gagged and pretended to barf.

"Oh- kay," Finn answered slowly. "I'd be cool to be a baseball player or something." He glanced down to the remaining cards in his hand. 'If you could go back in time, where would you go first?'"

"When I was born to now, so I can observe my own self growing up to the handsome lad I am today." The girls shook their heads in an amused impatience.

Charlene thought. "The first Olympics by the Romans would be pretty cool to watch." She grinned. "That and looking at old Roman fashion."

"For a moment there you confused me," Philby joked. "Growing up in Britain during the Revolutionary War would be an interesting History project. Like, two sides of the story, you know?"

"I'd go to the American side and when we got back we could compare notes," Willa smiled.

"You two are so strange," commented Jes. "Boston during the Salem Witch Trials would be pretty cool."

"When Disney first got started, you know, seeing Snow White for the first time in theaters," Amanda pondered.

"First football game!" called Finn and fist bumped the boys, much to the girls amusement. "Almost there guys, hold on. 'You've just discovered a family link to someone famous!'" Finn shouted with a fake excited air. "'Who do you hope it is? Is not?'"

"Is Michael Jackson. Is not Ozzy Osborne."

"Is Reese Witherspoon, and not Lindsey Lohan."

"Is Harrison Ford," Philby glared at Maybeck, who shrugged. "Is not Michael Jackson."

"What!" Maybeck shouted while furrowing his eyebrows. "Who doesn't like Michael Jackson?"

"Obviously I don't." Philby huffed. "I do feel bad for the guy though," he admitted and shrugged. "No one deserves death at a young age like that."

Willa patted him on the back and said, "I'd like to be related to Harrison Ford as well. Or Julie Andrews. I'd hate to be related to Brittany Spears."

"Music's good though," Jes commented. "I wouldn't mind being related to our president. Or any president, really. Though not any form of dictator or tyrannical ruler."

"Walt Disney. I'm agreeing with Jes with no evil people."

"Yeah, those are people we tend to avoid," Finn agreed with a smile. "It would be pretty cool to be related to a British Potter kid. Like Rupert Grint or Matthew Lewis." He held up the last card in a dramatic way. "The last card! 'If you could star in a big Broadway Musical, what would its title be?'" He glared at Maybeck. "Don't say Foxy, either."

Maybeck put on his best innocent look. "Fine then, The Super Awesome Life of a Foxy Superhuman."

"That'll sell tickets," Charlene replied evenly. "Star Struck."

"Komputer Kid, with a 'K'," Philby answered. "Play on letters, you know?"

Willa raised an eyebrow. "Okay. Mine is… Converse and Saving the World." She shrugged, smiling. "Lame but defines me."

"Saving the World and Other Illnesses."

"Confessions of a Mental Freak."

"Flashkick," Finn finished, standing up. "That's it, guys."

"Finally!" Maybeck grumbled but stood up anyway, brushing his shorts to get rid of any stuck grass blades. The rest of the group followed suit. They could tell that Maybeck did enjoy the exercise and learning about his friends, otherwise he would have been more of a pain.

"Magic Kingdom, then?" Charlene asked Finn. He nodded and began to walk toward the Monorails.

All too soon the doors were opening to the Magic Kingdom Park and they were asked for their bags to be checked.

"It was really nice for Wayne to allow us this break off," Willa murmured as she scanned in her ticket and adjusted her cap for disguise. Their bodyguard was right behind them.

"Yeah, he figured we needed it," Philby answered. He had been emailing Wayne more frequently.

Once they all passed the gates with no trouble, the Keepers strode along the streets of Main Street U.S.A. in awe. It wasn't often anymore that they saw the parks in broad daylight and they were just as majestic, possibly even more so, with the hot Florida sun shining down on the rides and Cinderella's castle. The breeze in Magic Kingdom was not nearly as strong as it was in Epcot so the girls took off their sweatshirts. The ice cream store was air conditioned, thankfully, and ice creams were ordered.

When all of the teens were settled into a table they thoughtfully licked their snacks.

"It's only going to get harder from here, right?" Amanda asked, already knowing the answer.

The Keepers all nodded solemnly.

"I'm glad we got to do this day and get to know one another better," Finn commented. "It'll only make our team stronger and more united against Maleficent."

Amanda raised up her cone. "To friends!" The rest of the group held up their own desserts in a joined harmony.

…**and? This is it!**


End file.
